| 6-OHDA | 6-hydroxydopamine |
| ALS | amyotrophic lateral sclerosis |
| BDNF | brain-derived neurotrophic factor |
| bp | base pair |
| CFLP | cleavase fragment length polymorphism |
| cM | centimorgan |
| cDNA | complementary DNA |
| CNS | central nervous system |
| CNTF | ciliary neurotrophic factor |
| DGGE | denaturing gel gradient electrophoresis |
| DNA | deoxyribonucleic acid |
| DTT | dithiothreitol |
| E | embryonic day |
| EGF | epidermal growth factor |
| EST | expressed sequence tag |
| FGF | fibroblast growth factor |
| FISH | fluorescent in situ hybridization |
| GDNF | glial cell line -derived neurotrophic factor |
| GFRa | GDNF family receptor alpha |
| HA | heteroduplex analysis |
| kb | kilobase pairs |
| kD | kilodalton |
| Kd | dissociation constant |
| LIF | leukemia inhibitory factor |
| MAPK | mitogen activated protein kinase |
| MEN2 | multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 |
| MPTP | 1-methyl-4phenyl-1,2,5,6-tetrahydropyridine |
| mRNA | messenger ribonucleic acid |
| NGF | nerve growth factor |
| NT | neurotrophin |
| NTN | neurturin |
| p75NTR | p75 neurotrophin receptor |
| PBS | phosphate buffered saline |
| PCR | polymerase chain reaction |
| PFA | paraformaldehyde |
| PSP | persephin |
| RFLP | restriction fragment length polymorphism |
| RH | radiation hybrid |
| RNA | ribonucleic acid |
| RT | reverse transcription |
| SSC | sodium chloride-sodium citrate |
| SSCP | single strand conformation polymorphism |
| TGFb | transforming growth factor beta |